Clarity of Honor
by The BirdFox Hybrid Productions
Summary: For the first time in far too long, Gaia decides to turn the hand of victory in favor of Zack Fair by allowing him to survive the fatal encounter with the Shinra army that should have left him dead.


**Clarity of Honor**  
_The BirdFox Hybrid Productions_

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"Hey Cloud, what are you going to do when we get to Midgar?" Zack watched his companion's head bob lifelessly to the movement of the truck, a forced smile plastered on his face. The blond's lips pursed just slightly, and Zack leaned back in the truck bed with a sigh. "I'm just kidding, I wouldn't do a thing like abandon you." Having said that, Zack flashed the comatose boy a smile, taking in a deep breath and inhaling the crisp autumn air as dust was kicked up under the vehicle's tires. They hit a rock of some sort and Cloud's head lolled to the side before his chin thudded back onto his chest. Zack hummed through his nose, glancing out to the scenery as it rushed by on their way to Midgar.

"We're friends, right?" He stretched out a leg, elbow resting on his other knee and flicking his hand up and down impatiently. They should have made it to Midgar already. They were taking far too long for the ex-SOLDIER to be comfortable. Zack returned his gaze to Cloud, trying once more to strike up a one-sided conversation. "We're gonna open a business that does everything." Pausing, Zack watched his friend for any kind of reaction, disappointed to see the dull aqua gaze stuck on some unknown location near his shoes.

"Do you understand, Cloud?" He got no response. Shrugging once, Zack shifted when a stray rock slipped from somewhere and was stuck under his bottom, causing a mild prick of pain. He pushed himself to his knees, turning around and grasping to the roof of the truck, catching strands of the radio from the open windows. After a moment of squinting at the outline of Midgar and listening to the gentle strands of an acoustic solo drifting out from the interior of the truck on the radio. Zack patted his hand on the roof. They would be passing between a pretty steep canyon in a moment, judging by the large and looming rock walls ahead of them.

"Hey pops, we're not there yet?" He grinned nonetheless, excitement coiling in his gut at the prospect of being back in a place that he'd always considered a safe haven, of sorts. Of course, the ex-SOLDIER would have much preferred Gongaga over Midgar, but thanks to Cissnei, he'd been given a heads-up to avoid recapture. The truck gave another groan as it rumbled over a pile of gravel. Zack laughed softly, calling out to the driver, "This piece of ju...nk..." He trailed off, violet eyes catching sight of a shadowed figure nested between two boulders, high up in the canyon. Realization striking, he cursed, stumbling back from the front of the truck and making a lunge for Cloud.

There was a loud clack as the bullet struck Zack's shoulder armor, bouncing off and grazing his cheek. Cloud shifted in his arms and Zack's heart leapt into his throat. He moved to block the blond from sight. "Cloud, get out of here!" He barked, hoping that his friend would be able to comply as the driver swerved to avoid another gunshot. Cloud flopped uselessly onto his side from the movement, both of them tumbling to the floor of the truck's bed when the driver slammed on the breaks.

"Hey pops, don't worry about us! You just get out of here, alright!" Zack yelled out, gathering Cloud into his arms and dragging the comatose boy off of the vehicle. The driver made a frantic and seemingly apologetic wave to the two before he took off down the road. Hurrying, Zack helped Cloud hunker down under a protective rock awning, setting him there and giving the area a quick glance around. He could see the figures of what looked like a good chunk of Shinra's army heading towards where he and Cloud had been spotted jumping off of the truck. With one knee in the dirt, Zack turned to stare down at Cloud's limp form, smiling affectionately and reaching a hand out to run it through blond spikes. He gripped to them for a moment, almost afraid to let go, before giving the teen's head a rough shake and patting it once.

He stood, staring down at Cloud and ignoring the sudden painful wrench that his heart gave at the sight of his friend, weak and unable to even do much more than basic instinctual functions like breathing and blinking. His resolve hardened, determination sinking in as he turned to the troops that had begun to gather in the road, searching for the two young men. He caught Cloud's arm starting to rise from the corner of his vision, but knew that if he turned back, he'd be unable to leave the blond's side again. Instead, Zack stepped out into the glaring afternoon sunlight, walking straight for the troops that were swarming around the rocks just above the road.

The first one to spot him was a sniper that was on a small hill, his gun cocking and alerting the other infantrymen of the ex-SOLDIER's approach. Zack's sensitive ears picked up the sound of hundreds of guns releasing their safety catches, all of them now aiming at the dark haired young man. Zack paused, glancing up to the two hovering Shinra helicopters and setting his hands on his hips.

He dropped his head, shaking it. "Boy, oh boy." Having muttered that under his breath, Zack glanced back up to the excessive number of gunmen, taking in their nervous stances and uneasy looks to one another. "The price of freedom is steep." He continued, as if Cloud were somehow able to hear him from where he was safely tucked between two large boulders. He scanned his eyes over all of the young men who seemed both terrified and in awe of Zack's presence -- the last of the 1st Class -- and for a moment, was pulled back to that snowy mountain pass where he had first met the blue eyed blond that he was about to risk his life saving.

Cloud's gentle smile came to Zack's mind, and he reached a hand over his shoulder to pull Angeal's sword from its magnetic holster, slowly pulling it around and jerking it upwards. He bowed his forehead to the hilt of it, Angeal's words coming back to him as Zack found himself reciting the things his mentor had once held most dear.

"Embrace your dreams." He uttered to Cloud, to Angeal, to Aerith and Cissnei and Kunsel. To the people that he cherished close to his heart. "And...whatever happens." He lifted his head, dashing away the sudden fear of facing his own death and staring into his own reflection in the surface of Angeal's sword. "Protect your honor, as SOLDIER!" He wrenched the buster sword back, bracing himself for a moment before he lunged for the troops.

"Come and get it!"

x

Zack's heart was roaring in his ears, painful, fluctuating pulls with each forceful beat that it gave. He sucked in a hoarse breath, blinking through blood-clouded eyes at the three gunmen that were hesitantly advancing towards him. Above them, a Shinra issue chopper was shining its headlights into the ex-SOLDIER's face, temporarily blinding him. His head swam, vision fading out for a moment with fatigue as the helicopter soared overhead, kicking up dust that the man inhaled accidentally, coughing once.

He nearly fell to one knee as the infantrymen advanced, mind overcome with the memory of a kitten-weak Cloud hidden betwixt two rocks at the base of the cliff. If he were to fail, all of their running and hard work would have been for nothing. Desire to save both the weakened blond and himself rose to a hot roar in his blood, and Zack clenched his jaw, lurching forward and startling the last handful of gunners with his sudden movement.

They scattered, but one of them wasn't fast enough to dodge the large arc of Angeal -- no, Zack's -- buster sword and grunted when the blade dug into his back, crippling him and sending the man dropping to the ground in a heap. In an instant, Zack was after the remaining two, boots kicking up bloodied dirt as he tried to incapacitate them before they could radio the chopper back.

As the last of Shinra's troops fell, Zack stumbled backwards, slumping against the rock wall of the cliff. He drew in a staggering breath, sword nearly dropping from his grasp as he collapsed to the ground. Relief swelled in his gut, muscles sagging as they conceded a long-fought battle to utter fatigue.

With the final remaining coils adrenaline leaking from his body, Zack knew he wouldn't be able to make it back to the bottom of the cliff without passing out. His eyes fluttered shut for a moment.

"Just a... a quick nap..." He amended softly, his head slumping with fatigue and bumping his chin against his chest. He sighed heavily as his last dredges of consciousness faded away.

"Z-Zack..." Zack was suddenly forced into wakefulness by a hand pressing weakly to his arm. Childlike fingertips were digging into his skin gingerly, desperately, and pulling enough to cause Zack's head to loll to the side. "Zack." His name was repeated with even more desperation from a soft voice that the man instantly recognized as Cloud's.

His eyelids felt painfully heavy, and he would have ignored the way that Cloud was pawing at his arm, if it weren't for the mangled half sob of Zack's name that escaped the teen. He inhaled sharply, breath catching in his throat, which caused the ex-SOLDIER to release a wet cough. His ears picked up Cloud's soft gasp that bordered on a surprised whimper.

The way that the blond's hand clutched his forearm was able to dispel enough of Zack's fatigue for him to lift his head.

"H-hey Spike." He greeted hoarsely, rolling his neck back to peek at Cloud through lowered eyelids. Cloud's skin was pale, his eyes an iridescent mixture of green and blue that seemed to glow, regardless of how the rainclouds overshadowed everything else.

At first, the darkness surprised him. Zack had been under the impression that he hadn't slept for more than a few minutes, but the slowly gathering storm clouds told the ex-SOLDIER that he had been out for at least a half hour.

"Zack?" Even though he clearly heard his name coming from the blond's mouth, Cloud's lips didn't seem to move from their slack position. The teen leaned forward, hazy eyes searching Zack's for a moment before he seemed satisfied with the weak upturn of his friend's lips -- the closest thing to a reassuring smile that Zack could muster -- and slumped his shoulders in relief.

Zack shifted his arm back until he was able to clasp Cloud's hand, gripping the boy's fingers weakly and giving them a tug. "Gonna... rest my eyes... for a minute." Shutting his eyes, he pulled on Cloud's hand again and grinned tiredly to himself when the boy shifted to sit beside Zack against the rock wall. As they sat there, Zack could feel the first droplets of rain pattering against his cheeks, and tilted his head skyward to relish in it.

Cloud, silent, shifted against Zack's side before he leaned his body against the ex-SOLDIER's, head nestling onto Zack's shoulder armor. The blond released a shuddering breath of exhaustion, his fingers clutching to Zack's like a lifeline as both comrades drifted quickly into unconsciousness.

It was the cold that woke him.

The wind had picked up, gathering the chill that hung in the air like a fog and whipping its way across the barren landscape, skimming over muddy rain puddles and colliding with every stout rock cropping that crossed its path.

There was no escaping it. The wind nipped harshly at Zack's exposed face and arms as it gusted past him and clung to his damp uniform with such tenacity it had to be out of spite. Gaia itself had it out for him. It had wrapped him in a clammy, deep-set chill that sunk past flesh, past tendons and muscles, making his very bones brittle with the cold.

Pulling his sense back from the dark, safe edge of the unconscious realm proved to be no easy task to overcome. The ex-SOLDIER struggled through the haze of his mind like mire. It grasped at his limbs, bogged him down, threatened to drag him under and fill him with the nothingness he'd been drifting in for far too many hours already.

It was distant, muddled, like listening to a gurgle of words uttered under water, but a part of him was urging to push back. To fight his way through this. There was something important he needed to do, something- he couldn't recall. It was there in that faint, jumbled urging, but he couldn't think…

At least it had stopped raining.

The absence of cold droplets splashing onto his face -- pricking his skin -- sent a crack splintering down the dam that trapped Zack's consciousness. Sensory information began trickling through the crack, bringing with it a growing definition, a clarity. He knew the wind was there, blasting over him like an industrial Shinra issue storage freezer from hell. He felt the rough, solid wall of the rock cropping pressed up against his back, supporting his head and contributing to a stiff neck. His fingers were gripping the smooth, thick handle of the Buster sword, familiar and comforting.

The term, 'now or never' came to Zack's mind for a moment as he struggled to stay awake. Summoning up a willpower that felt so worn with use he wondered if it even belonged to him, Zack forced his eyes open, squinting. The darkness, almost as pitch as the void he'd been floating in, didn't surround him for long. The mako pumping through his veins kicked in, and his eyes quickly adjusted, taking in the outline of the hefty rock that stood firmly in front of him. An exhale, a whispering breath sounded beside him, instantly knocking him into full awareness.

Cloud.

Testing his hold on the ground, Zack tried to push himself away from the rock behind him when he realized that half of his body was being weighed down by his sleeping companion. Adjusting, Zack turned his head to the side, neck cracking as he took in Cloud's sleeping form. Untangling his trapped hand from Cloud's grip, Zack withheld the gasp of pain when every muscle and joint in his body protested heavily at the prospect of moving. Stiff and aching, Zack ignored them in favor of easing Cloud off of his shoulder and back against the canyon's wall.

Cloud showed no signs of stirring from his shift to a less comfortable position, but he was alive and breathing and that knowledge eased the tension in Zack's shoulders slightly, quieted down the small, nagging anxiety that had set up shop in the back of his mind since the day he busted them out of the labs. It was a quiet, deep-reaching fear that Cloud couldn't win this battle, that the mako would get the better of him.

But Spike was still there, and Zack knew his worries were stupid and unnecessary. Cloud had taken on Sephiroth, for Odin's sake, and was still around to tell the tale instead of being obliterated back into the Lifestream. The kid was a fighter, if he ever saw one.

Zack fixed his enhanced gaze on his companion, searching for the familiar features obscured by the shadows of the night, but a faint twitching motion caught his attention from the corner of his eye and he reflexively dropped his gaze from Cloud's pale, dark face to the source of the movement.

The blonde's shoulders were shaking in small, jerking tremors beneath his armor, traveling down his torso and finding outlet through his exposed arms. Zack suddenly realized, with a pang of sympathy and guilt, that Cloud was most likely freezing cold — because Zack was, too. Like Cloud, the older man wasn't enjoying it in the slightest.

Leaning back in a gentle, easing motion, Zack tried to reason out their options. Out here in the unforgiving, desolate wilderness they had absolutely nothing to protect them from the elements but the rain-damp clothes on their backs, and a fat lot of good those were doing them. The wind didn't seem like it would be letting up anytime soon. There was only one option of warming up in a situation like this, and that was to get moving.

They had to head towards Midgar sooner or later. Two birds with one stone.

Bringing his hand up against the cliff wall as a brace, Zack pushed himself to his feet with a grunt, ignoring how his arm shook with the effort and his stiff legs barely cooperated. He eased himself forward a few feet to peer beyond the tall rock surrounding him, squinting out into the distance. It was barely visible in the night that blanketed the earth, but a dark and murky cloud speckled with spots of light hung in the air like a miasma, marking the behemoth city that was their destination.

Turning back, Zack's gaze sought out Cloud's immobile form on the ground before him, feeling a small smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. Forcing his legs into motion, Zack leaned down to grab the handle of the buster sword where it rested on the ground beside Cloud, hefting the sword into the air with a strength he didn't know he still possessed and slinging it over his shoulder to attach it to the holster on his back. It weighed him down, but he welcomed the familiar feeling.

"Okay Spike, time to get a move on. We've got a hell of a long walk ahead of us." Kneeling down beside his unconcious friend, Zack took Cloud's arm in his hand and eased the kid from the rock cropping. He slid the arm around his own shoulder while moving his other hand to wrap around Cloud's waist. The action helped him pull the shivering body close as he squatted down on his haunches, propelling them both to a standing position with another grunt of effort. His legs wobbled, but Zack pushed forward, dragging himself and Cloud out from the shadow of the rock wall that had served as their temporary haven.

A particularly icy gust of wind rushed past them, rustling blond spikes and stinging Zack's cheeks. A groan escaped Cloud's lips, his head lolling to rest on Zack's shoulder and feet shuffling over the cracked ground in a faint imitation of the dark-haired man's heavy steps beside them. "I know, buddy. The sooner we get to Midgar, the sooner we can get out of this wind." Zack muttered, halting his movements as they reached the edge of the cliff and he peered to the ground below, assessing. It wasn't a long way down, maybe three stories or so; at the very least, they wouldn't die on impact if Zack screwed up and sent them hurtling downwards.

Zack slipped Cloud's arm from his shoulder and tucked it beside the teen's body. Using his free hand, the dark-haired man reached over and pulled the buster sword from the holster on his back, glancing over the edge of the cliff once more. It would be fine, he was sure of it. Giving the giant, nicked blade in his grip a fond once-over, Zack tossed the sword off the cliff, watching it sail downwards before clattering to the ground a few feet away.

Moving his hand underneath Cloud's arm and gripping his waist tightly to heft the blond securely over his shoulder in a typical fireman's hold, Zack dropped to his knees with his back to the cliff. He gripped the hard edge of the cliff with his freed hands and cautiously extended a leg over the ledge to wedge his boot into the cliff wall for traction. When he felt his boot was securely positioned, Zack braced himself, sucking in an unsure breath of air before hoisting them off the cliff's edge to begin the downward descent.

Zack hung in suspension for a long moment, muscles screaming with the sudden weight they had to support and half-certain his feet would slip out from under him at any moment. The practical sense to get his ass moving soon kicked in, though, and Zack scanned the cliff wall in front of him, searching for a protrusion, an alcove to grab onto. He could just barely see over Cloud's body if he lowered his left shoulder slightly, and spotted a small rock jutting out of the wall beside the teen. Zack shifted all the body weight he could manage to his right side while one hand quickly went to find the protruding rock, grasping it tightly as the other hand slid down to grip the weathered wall on the other side. Zack slowly descended down the cliff this way, finding dips and pockets and juts to hold on to. His muscles shook and protested fiercely, his skin scraped against the rock, and he nearly lost his footing more than once, but he kept a steady pace. He couldn't stop now.

About halfway down the climb, Zack turned his head over his empty shoulder, judging the distance between himself and the dark ground. It was plenty close enough. Bending his knees toward the cliff wall, Zack pushed himself away from the rock with a heaving motion as his legs propelled him forward, twisting around in midair and quickly snaking an arm securely around Cloud's back. He bent his legs to absorb the impact as his feet collided with the ground, but Cloud's weight threw his balance off, and Zack cursed as Cloud was jarred from his shoulder when he went tumbling face first into the ground.

The ex-SOLDIER pushed himself to his hands and knees with a groan, his eyes instantly flitting to the blond teenager lying beside him to judge if he was alright. Cloud was still breathing, and still the better part of comatose. "Sorry about that, Cloud." Zack muttered in apology, leaning in the opposite direction grab onto the buster sword that sat about a foot away. It was pretty damn lucky that neither of them had landed on it. After securing the sword in its rightful place behind him with a metallic schling, Zack kneeled down to grab Cloud's arm and sling it around himself once more. Soon, they were in much the same position they'd been in pre-cliff, with Cloud's arm held around Zack's shoulders, the dark-haired man's free arm wrapped around Cloud's waist, and the teen's head resting on his shoulder.

Now the long stretch was ahead. Moving foward in the step-step-shuffle pattern that was quickly forming with the two males, Zack realized that all this painful moving was doing some good. With each motion, his stiff joints loosened, the ache in his muscles faded slightly. The blood pumped warmly through his veins, chasing the chill from his bones.

Zack stared at the murky, speckled mass hovering in the sky in the distance, trying to work out an estimate of how long it would take before they reached Midgar. An hour, probably, if they were slow about it. And they weren't exactly running any races at the moment.

Faced with the quiet wilderness and only his thoughts to keep him busy, Zack allowed himself a moment to celebrate the fact that they'd successfully escaped Shinra's clutches, at least for the moment, and were on their way to their planned destination. They had actually made it. He'd taken out a whole chunk of the Shinra army all by himself, and could still drag a human-shaped deadweight across a barren plateau. How badass was that?

The light feeling didn't last long, though, and was soon weighed down with doubt and growing anxiety. So they were on their way to Midgar, but what then? What if they couldn't sneak into the city without getting caught? What if they were turned right back in to Shinra? If they did get in, where, and how, were they going to live and make a living? What if Cloud never came out of this, what if he....

No. Zack shook his head to dispel that train of thought, a few stray locks of his hair slapping against his cheeks with the motion, like small bits of ice. He couldn't let himself think of that as a possibility. He couldn't. He wouldn't be able to hold it together if he did. With a sick gnawing growing in the pit of his stomach, Zack pulled Cloud's arm a little more tightly around himself, sighing. He wished that Angeal was there. He would know what to do. Angeal could always find a way to turn his worries and reservations into hope and determination.

But Angeal wasn't there. Angeal was gone, and never coming back. The only thing left of Zack's mentor was the sword strapped to his back. The wind whipped past his and Cloud's forms again, whistling and lonely.

"Remember when we met, Cloud? It was cold, like this." He paused to give off a strained laugh. "Well, it was snowing back then, but still." Zack knew full well that his companion wouldn't respond, but talking distracted him, kept him from wallowing in the darker corners of his mind. "I liked you the minute I met you. I knew we'd get along well." A tiny grin pulled at Zack's lips, recalling the first joke they'd shared. "Us country boys have to stick together, y'know?"

Zack talked endlessly from that point, grasping the first topics that came to his head and lavishing over them as he pulled the two of them closer and closer to their shrouded destination. He explained to Cloud everything about his home in Gongaga he could never return to, from the tiny, simple house his family lived in and the pen of chocobos his neighbor had to the stream flowing behind the village he used to fish in. He told the tale of how he'd made it into SOLDIER, he recalled without the least bit of fondness how awfully sick he'd felt after his first mako injection, and, with a bit more fondness, regaled Cloud with the story of his daring mission to Wutai.

The mindless babbling served well as a distraction, and soon the hovering mass of the city was much closer, the shining yellow lights much more defined from behind the surrounding walls. Zack's ears picked up the metallic clinking, clanging and chugging of the railways that lead into Midgar, and he shifted directions to follow the familiar sounds, knowing their safest bet of getting into the city was to follow the rails.

Zack's sharp eyes caught the shadowed, hunkering mass of a train pulling up to one of the many initial approval checkpoints as he and Cloud drew nearer to the incoming railways. But really, Zack's eyes took in the hefty industrial metal the train was encased with, looking slightly rusted well worn with journeys-- and more importantly, the lack of windows plastered on the sides of the train cars. It was a cargo train, not a passenger train, and it was just what he was looking for.

It would reach the gate in less than five minutes, given the fact that it was still breaching the overpass that would lead into the heart of Midgar. Zack dragged Cloud over to the base of the platform and set the boy down, ignoring the incredulous stares of the two troopers that were awaiting the steam engine's arrival. He waved cheerily at the men, pulling himself up onto the wooden flooring with a grunt. Their eyes were instantly glued to the torn, dirty SOLDIER uniform Zack was clad in, the possibility of who he was no doubt running through their heads.

"Great weather, huh guys?" He greeted the men jovially, taking a quick glance to where Cloud was still slumped lifelessly in the dirt to ensure that he was safe. Satisfied, he approached the infantrymen, raising his hands up defenselessly when they cocked their guns.

"Hey- I don't want to fight!" Lowering his hands, he gestured to the train. "I was just wondering if you guys would be up to letting me and my buddy sneak onto that incoming cargo shipment." The safety catch was released on the gun of the closest man, the optics of his helmet clicking -- most likely receiving data on Zack's physical status.

"Boy, you two sure are a cheerful lot." The ex-SOLDIER sighed, moving as if to run his hand tiredly through his wind-blown hair and changing movement at the last second, fist shooting out and slamming into the nearest trooper's mouth. He felt the man's teeth crack under his knuckles, wincing at the feeling. He ducked just in time to avoid the shots of the second man's gun, elbow jerking upward to catch him in the throat.

The trooper seemed undeterred after a moment of choking coughs, cocking his gun and reaching a hand up to the tiny guard station to most likely radio for help. Zack panicked, fingers grappling for the soldier's face, jerking it to the side and snapping his neck without a second thought.

He watched the man's body crumple lifelessly to the ground before whirling around to see the first guard lying unconscious on the platform behind him. A sigh escaped the ex-SOLDIER and he crouched over the immobile form, hands reaching out to hold onto the man's head. His arms jerked to perform the same task to this trooper as he'd done to the first, killing him instantly. They'd only been doing their jobs, but if Zack wanted Cloud and himself to make a clean entry, they couldn't risk having their identities leaked so soon. He bitterly thanked the fact that all the time spent suspended in a mako tank hadn't diminished his killing ability.

The sudden, blaring train horn signified that Zack wouldn't have much time to do what he needed. Cursing, the ex-SOLDIER lifted both bodies as well as he could, jumping off the platform and dragging them around behind it. He stripped the men of their clothes and helmets, wincing when he realized that one of them looked barely past his mid teens. Disgust at himself coiled in the man's gut.

Shaking his head to dispel the suddenly paralyzing guilt, Zack rushed over to Cloud, dumping the clothes in a heap behind his blond friend. He didn't have time to remove any of Cloud's uniform, and so instead decided to put on the infantrymen's suit over top of it. Their pants would have to stay, and lucky for the two boys, there was hardly a difference between trooper and SOLDIER issue leg wear, save for the knee guards and color of their boots. He unclasped Cloud's shoulder armor, letting them fall to the ground on either side of the blond. "Should help with the cold, kiddo." He muttered, stuffing a pale and limp arm into a sleeve and repeating the process with Cloud's other arm.

The train was too close for comfort, and Zack hurriedly jammed the helmet onto Cloud's head, nearly tripping over himself in his effort to try and at least get on the uniform shirt, scarf, and helmet before the steam engine pulled in. He stashed Angeal's sword next to Cloud, almost falling over when the shirt got trapped around his arms and head, pinning his biceps to his ears.

Finally able to get on the shirt and scarf, Zack winced as the helmet smashed his nose into his face, but ignored it in lieu of pulling Cloud over one shoulder and dragging the buster sword with him to the side of the wooden platform, ducking down to hide as the train slowly chugged in. While waiting for it to stop, Zack checked the pockets of the trooper's uniforms, satisfied when he found identification cards in both sets of pants and then tucking them in his own pocket.

As the machine came to a creeping, whining halt at the approval station, Zack practically lifted Cloud's feet from the ground as he hurried them over to the flat, protruding space at the train's caboose. He carefully placed Cloud down on the sitting space before plopping down himself, keeping his gaze darting from train to train, box to box, as a precaution while placing the buster sword and remaining bits of their uniforms beside his friend. It was highly unlikely that anyone had spotted what Zack had done, considering there was no other supervision of incoming shipments outside of the city, but he couldn't help the nervous twisting in his gut, and one hand wrapped protectively around his blond friend's shoulder.

The second checkpoint would be the one they had to get off at. He peered around the train to see the conductor standing on the platform, scratching his head in confusion. A sigh of relief escaped the ex-Soldier, and he went about attaching the knee guards to his legs and then to Cloud's, nearly falling off the train when it jerked back to life. He grasped for Cloud's body when the blond was almost hurled to the ground, holding him close.

"We're almost home free, Cloud." He said softly into the comatose boy's ear. Cloud's only response was to blink slowly at his feet. It worried Zack, but he figured that Cloud had exhausted too much energy climbing up the steep cliff in search of the ex-SOLDIER, and his body was probably trying to recover that lost strength. The ex-SOLDIER had originally tried scaling the rock walls as a means of both escape and diverting Shinra's extensive army from finding Cloud, though it had done little more than delay the fighting. To Zack, it was a miracle that Cloud had managed to drag his body that far before he'd all but passed out beside Zack.

As the train crossed over the threshold and into Midgar, Zack swung his legs impatiently, having already secured their shoulder armor back in place, along with the braces around their abdomens. The train paused momentarily at the Sector 7 station, giving Zack enough time to grab Cloud and his sword and jump onto the tracks before it took off again. It was short of a godsend that the station was empty. Zack thanked the Goddess for that.

Given that he couldn't holster his sword any longer, Zack shifted Cloud around, crouching low and somehow managing to pull the blond onto his back. He held tight to the boy's thighs, the hilt of his sword clutched in one hand, squished between Cloud's leg and his palm. He began to walk, wincing at the sound of his and Angeal's beloved sword being dragged through the rocks and dirt. They barely made it out of the station area before Cloud began to slip down his back.

"Jeez, Spike. Can't you try to hold on?" Zack teased, hoisting Cloud up a bit so that he had a better hold on the blond and sliding the hand without the sword under Cloud's bottom for a better grip. Inside of Midgar, the cold air and biting wind were buffed by buildings and the energy generated by the mako reactor. Thankful of the reprieve from the weather, Zack shuffled through the slums, pointedly avoiding any chance he might have had to come into contact with the late night prowlers of prostitutes and dealers.

In time, they reached the heart of Sector 7, where a small subway was located that, with the proper identification, would grant people access to the rest of the city.

Zack nodded once to the tired looking woman behind the ticket booth, turning around to allow Cloud to slide off of his shoulders and back. He leaned the blond up against the wall of the booth before gesturing to him for the woman. "Kid's had too much to drink." He said gruffly, albeit fondly. "First time under the plate and all." He gave a gentle shake of his head, as if Cloud were some kind of naive rookie that didn't know any better.

The woman stared at him blankly, popping her gum. "ID please." She requested nasally, reaching out to pull up something on the computer. Zack nodded, feeling nervous despite the fact that his face was hidden beneath the trooper's helmet. He dug through his pockets pulling out both of the identifications and sliding them under the glass barrier.

She took them lazily, scanning them onto her computer and returning them to the ex-SOLDIER.

"Sector five, ma'am." Zack requested softly, tucking the cards into his pocket. She hummed to him, printing out two small tickets and sliding them under the glass. Zack nodded his head, thanking her softly as she directed the boys to the fourth platform and let him know they had a good fifteen minutes before the next subway train came back.

Zack thanked her again, heaving Cloud's arm up over a shoulder and almost falling over when he tried to bend down to grab his sword again. Carrying his two most precious things over to a bench near their required platform, Zack sat down with a sigh. He'd chosen the housing Sector because he knew that, if the Turks or any other part of Shinra were to start looking for them, they would start in the slums and work their way through all of Midgar based on areas of easy access. They wouldn't suspect the deaths of the two infantrymen to be the fault of escaped experiments any more than they'd accuse a bum who just wanted to spend a night above the plate by stealing some ID cards off of two troopers.

The slums wouldn't have anywhere for Zack and Cloud to hide safely, anyway. He'd seen enough homeless folk on the street to know that if he and Cloud were going to be able to hide, it had to be done where there would be abandoned buildings. His greatest hope was that there was a few unoccupied homes for the two of them to stay in until Zack could figure out a better plan of action.

"Hey, Cloud." Zack reached a hand out to wrap his arm about Cloud's sagging shoulders, pulling the blond close. "What do you think about a Delivery Service? It's an 'anything' kind of job, right?" Cloud's fingers twitched from where they sat limply on either side of his body. The blond's head bobbed in an almost-yes manner, huffing a small breath.

Zack grinned at the response, patting Cloud's bicep affectionately. He glanced at the subway platform in front of them, stomach giving a sudden gurgling wretch and causing the ex-SOLDIER to pat it mournfully. "I dunno about you, Spike, but as soon as we find a place, I'm goin' to that bakery down at Wallmarket to have some of those bagels they sell in the morning." The mere thought of food had him nearly groaning in hunger, free hand releasing the hilt of his sword to rub at his malnourished abdomen.

"Yeah, I'll have them coat it in warm peanut butter with some cinnamon sugar on it, and a big jug of milk to go with it. It'll be just like my ma's breakfast back in Gongaga when I was a kid." If he imagined hard enough, Zack could almost smell his mother's pastries baking in their coal-heated oven, filling their three room house with the intoxicating scent of dough and sugar.

"I remember sittin' at the table with a huge glass of some Gongagan Apple Cider. It was good, anything with some of the apples out of the jungle always was. I used to spill that stuff everywhere." Chuckling fondly, Zack shook his head. "Drove my ma crazy." Cloud's feet shifted, head tilting to rest limply on Zack's shoulder guard. The ex-SOLDIER grinned, peering down the subway tracks and taking a moment to enjoy the peaceful silence that rested between the two of them.

After a few moments, Zack spoke. "We'll be okay, Cloud."

The intercom crackled to life, announcing that the train for Sectors 6 and 5 would be boarding soon, and that all passengers should stand behind the yellow line. Zack shifted Cloud's body so that they were back into what had become their regular traveling position. Pulling his sword behind him, Zack approached the platform, watching as the subway pulled in on the tracks before him. The automatic doors slid open, bright yellow light spilling out onto the dim platform. Two teenage girls that were more nude than dressed stepped off the subway first, one of them eyeing Zack approvingly before smiling at Cloud's limp form. They brushed past the two young men and Zack heaved Cloud over the threshold of the subway car, easing his friend into the nearest chair and taking a seat beside him.

He clutched to the handle of the buster sword, gloved thumb running over the soft padding that encased its hilt. The subway groaned to life, jarring its passengers that consisted of the two young men and a homeless looking man who was cuddled up under a newspaper near the rear end of the cab. Zack sighed tiredly, jerking in surprise when Cloud's head thudded against his shoulder once more, one hand sliding off of his lap to land softly on top of where Zack's was resting between them both.

Instantly, the ex-SOLDIER curled his fingers around that of the blond's, giving them a gentle squeeze. "When we get settled, how about I take you under the plate to meet a friend of mine? Her name is Aerith. She's a real sweetheart, I'm sure she'll love you." Zack shook their joined hands in some kind of affirmative motion. From Cloud's throat came a whimpering sound that sent chills down Zack's spine. The fingers in his grasp trembled, causing the older man to look down at his companion, worry crossing his face at the way that Cloud's eyes seemed to flicker back in forth as if watching a scene play out, his thin brows furrowing.

Cloud had suffered a few moments where he'd seemed to be stuck in some kind of memory or horrific and lifelike nightmare before. The blond had never been lucid enough for Zack to question what they entailed, only able to offer physical support for the young cadet. Zack was almost positive that it had to do with his last moments of full coherency being spent with Sephiroth's sword driven through his gut.

Ignoring the homeless man who was now peeking out from under his newspaper to watch them oddly, Zack released his hold on Angeal's sword to wrap an arm around Cloud's head and draw the blond to his chest. "S'alright, buddy. Just a little bit longer, okay?" He muttered softly into the shell of one too-pale ear.

Cloud sighed out a half moan into the material of Zack's scarf, his rigid shoulders going slack for a moment. Zack grinned, patting the back of Cloud's head and easing the blond back beside him, now that Cloud was back to his less-than-half-coherent state. The overhead lights flickered for a moment, the subway clanking loudly as it shot through Sector 6 and towards their destination. The newspapers rustled as the homeless man shifted, and Zack's eyes flitted over the scuff marks and colorful graffiti that were spattered across a few chairs, walls, and even on the nearby metal door. He took a moment to appreciate the art in itself as the minutes ticked by.

He didn't have a watch on himself, and so with that sudden realization, Zack decided to pull out his creased ticket stub and examine the date and time written on it, whistling lowly after a moment. Five years and three months had never seemed to pass by so quickly. Zack chalked most of it up to the fact that their time spent in Nibelheim's mansion and under Hojo's supervision had blurred days and minutes into a continuous stream of unrecognizable voices and mako injections. Zack wondered, with a twinge of anxiety, just how much of the world had changed in that time spent suspended in his glass prison in Nibelheim.

He supposed they'd been on the subway for a good ten minutes when it slowed to a stop, doors opening with a hiss to allow Zack and Cloud off of the large contraption. Shouldering Cloud's arm, Zack snatched up the buster sword and proceeded to make his way out of the deserted station. He peeked around, his helmet's visuals clicking and assessing the nearby data -- something Zack had actually missed from his cadet days -- until his eyes trained on the nearest exit.

Once out onto an open street, the two continued their previous combination of walking and shuffling while Zack silently thanked the Goddess for making the surrounding area completely barren of life. It helped that it was three in the morning, and nearly every citizen in the housing sector was tucked away in their beds-- above the plate, no one would ever entertain the idea of slipping down the street at this time of night to buy a hit from a dealer, or to stumble around aimlessly after being booted from every bar within a 2 sector radius. No one up here ever had to scout out the best corner to sleep on. Taking the opportunity, Zack pushed the infantryman's helmet up to rest atop his head, freeing his aching nose and exposing his eyes.

The weather was more than a fraction colder above the plate, and proved itself by the way the familiar chill fell over them like a blanket. Cloud's body took up its previous shivering until both males were moving enough to warm their limbs. Zack slowly pulled himself and Cloud down the dark, silent street, his eyes darting from one side of the road to the other to assess the rows of two-story houses they were passing. Every one of the houses so far held the same air of similarity, with brick and fresh paint and little driveways lined up neatly--all in good upkeep, lived in. Zack needed just the opposite.

The dark-haired man shifted Cloud's arm a bit as they turned a corner, halting when he realized they'd stepped into the rounded circle of a culdesac, boasting three rather small houses, compared to the other spacious cookie-cutter houses that lined the previous street. Zack huffed in irritation and turned on his boot, realizing they'd have to travel in the exact opposite direction, when the house nestled on the far-right edge of the culdesac caught his eye. The driveway was absent of any sort of vehicle, the paint was peeling in large, conspicuous patches on the exterior of the house, and the first wooden step leading up to the front door was completely smashed through.

It looked promising.

After hefting Cloud over the jagged wood of the broken step, Zack crossed the small porch space and reached out to test the doorknob of the splintering front door. Not surprisingly, the cold metal was stiff and rusted, refusing to let the door budge. That was a good sign. It increased the chances of the place being long abandoned. The dark-haired man pulled Cloud's arm close to him so that it was practically wrapped around his neck before Zack shifted his body and bent his legs into a crouch. He sucked in a breath, briefly assessing his target before surging forward and slamming his free shoulder into the decaying wood. The door immediately swung inwards with a sharp crack and a whining creak, causing Zack to wince and nervously flitter his gaze around the culdesac and adjacent streets in fear that their new neighbors had been disturbed.

When no lights flickered on, and no sleep-hazy citizen poked their head out their window in confusion, Zack let out a long breath and hurried them over the threshold of the doorway and into the house, kicking the old door shut with his boot.

It was no small relief to learn that the interior of the house was a worn replica of the outside. Zack peered into the small, open room to their right, most likely a sitting room. The soft moonlight pouring in from the curtainless window illuminated chipped paint, peeling floral wallpaper, and a lone, faded green couch pushed against the wall. It was clear that a living soul hadn't set foot into that room in a long, long time. The same lonely story presented itself as Zack pulled himself and Cloud deeper into the house, past other rooms; his sharp gaze lingered on the thick slab of the dining table, the dark silhouettes of intact chairs and wooden heaps of more unfortunate ones. The checkered linoleum floor of the once-kitchen was scratched and discolored. Everything was coated in a thick layer of dust.

When the first floor rooms had been passed, Zack found himself standing at what was clearly the back end of the house, facing another curtainless, dust-layered window sitting in the middle of the wall. Silvery wisps of moonlight shone through in patches on the floor, seeping over Zack's boots and grabbing at the staircase beside them that led to the second floor. The ex-SOLDIER followed the moonlight's example and bodily turned himself and Cloud to face the staircase, the very last leg of their journey. They really were almost home free. Safe.

With that tangible feeling nearly in his grasp, Zack eagerly began to climb the stairs with his companion, ignoring the dangerous groans that the stairs gave off in protest of their combined weight, refusing to glance at the missing chunk of banister so close to the blond teen. A purely relieved, unrestrained grin broke out across the man's face as he left the last stair for the even ground of the second floor, feeling the weight of anxiety, the burden of ever-alert SOLDIER senses, lift from his being, if only for the moment.

The second floor was small, boasting only three rooms. They didn't need anything more than that. Even one would have been okay, as long as it offered more protection than the uncovered windows of the first floor. Zack shuffled towards the nearest room, gently pushing open the jarred door and finding the memory of a bedroom, complete with stale air, a bare nightstand and a mattress shoved in the corner. At least that meant Cloud had a place to rest while he recovered. Moving over to the sparse furniture, Zack's feeling of luck quickly soured when he realized the mattress had white stuffing billowing out from various rips and tears, stains and splotches covering nearly the entire expanse of the fabric, and was giving off a distinctly unpleasant stench. It wasn't suitable for Cloud at all.

With a sigh, Zack dragged Cloud over to the opposite wall and eased the blond down to lean against it. "Sorry Spike, I'll deal with that tomorrow." The man offered his friend a weary, apologetic smile as he shook the helmet from his head and unclasped his armor, letting them clatter to the ground before repeating the action for Cloud. Once free from the hard, protective casing, Zack slid Cloud carefully from the wall until his companion was lying on the floor, eyelashes resting against pale cheeks and chest rising rhythmically in an imitation of mere sleep.

Utter exhaustion, like when it had overtaken him on the barren battlefield so many miles away, descended upon Zack with surprising force, wrapping around every limb and fogging his mind. He felt himself slipping down beside Cloud in a much similar fashion, a barrier between the blond teen and the doorway, just in case. SOLDIER habits died hard. But there was really no chance of enemies bursting in on them, no chance of them being found so soon. They had escaped. They did it.

They did it.

Stretching his arm out in the small distance between them, Zack searched for Cloud's hand, grasping the limp appendage when he found it resting on the floor. "We're okay, Cloud." Zack whispered to the comatose boy. And for the moment, the brief moment of lying there with Cloud, on the floor of an abandoned house, invisible to the world, Zack believed it. "We're okay now."

* * *

**Psycho Rooster:** We've had this gem sitting in GDocs for almost a year now and I finally decided to go ahead and post it in hopes that maybe the feedback will get us to start writing again. Thanks to Xerxies19 for beta-ing this.

**Random Kyuubi:** This was a huge effort on both our parts, so give us some love. ;D


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